by Enid Titan
Here, I presume faking my own death will be easier because I don’t care about Tucker and while I feel sorry for Ingrid, she isn’t my own mother or anything. She’ll cope just fine with the monster she’s created. As we return home, I complain of a headache and Ingrid sends me off to bed. I immediately start packing a tiny duffel. I can’t take much. I still want Tucker to think that I’ve only gone for a walk and I might come back at any minute. I search through his things for a hunting knife and pack that too. I figure that Tucker must have a weapon around here somewhere.
Guns are banned on Earth, but Tucker has always preferred making the rules to following them. Earth II doesn’t have any laws against the weapons yet. I search for what feels like an hour and I’m running out of time by the time I find one. A tiny nuclear blaster. I don’t know how they work, but I do know if I set the weapon to stun, I can take down a creature as big as a bear.
I have always loved camping, though not so much hunting for my own food. I’ll figure it out along the way. I peer out the window. It’s about a ten-foot drop, but I’ve been on the run from the Corporation for about eight months, so suffice it to say, I’ve done worse. The climate here is mild, thankfully. Bless the Corporation for thinking about the bliss of their top dogs while they colonize this place. They could have chosen somewhere colder, or more of a desert climate and this place is sub-tropical at least — and without many insects from what I’ve seen. I steel myself for the drop.
I toss my bag out first and then I follow. Since everyone thinks I’m sleeping, I can run across the compound undetected with my duffel. I make it to a thicket of trees. The boundaries of our settlement aren’t guarded and the next settlement is ten or fifteen miles away. I figure I can camp out between the two overnight and then I’ll have to sneak past the second settlement and head into the uncharted forests. I’ll clear my own place and heck, maybe I can build myself shelter and wait a few months before finding a way off this planet. There are transports back and forth and if I get on at a different port, my chances of being detected will plummet. Walking through the forest is harder than I expect.
The forest floor smells like wet soil and the animal populations are far denser than I expect. I am wrong about the bugs. A few red beetles crawl up and down thick tree trunks. I don’t think the insects bite. I keep an eye on the sun and try to remember that it rises in the North and sets in the South. I am heading north, toward the next settlement but I don’t want to get too far. Without my fitness tracker, I don’t know how many paces I have walked. I stop when I get tired of holding my duffel. I didn’t bring along any rations except canned peaches — which I hate.
I don’t have much choice but to eat them and hope that Tucker isn’t smart enough to realize I’ve ditched down. I slurp down the canned peaches and even choke down the thick syrup when a thought crosses my mind. I finally have time to masturbate. Okay, I’m alone in a forest and any number of creatures could see me, but no one human, right?! I am genuine that wound up.
I spread my blanket on the ground and prop myself up with a folded sweater and I allow my hand to trail down into my pants. Just as I am about to touch myself, the ground shakes. It’s no regular earthquake. The sky darkens and I sit up sharply.
Someone has bombed Earth II.
Chapter 9
I Am Returning To Tucker
This fucker is going to stop me from ever having an orgasm again. I know it technically isn’t Tucker’s fault that the sky is black and judging by the lights in the sky, two or more alien ships have come — most likely to annex the planet and sell us all into slavery. I blame him anyway. I need to go back because Tucker still owes me my safety and if he finds out I tried to run away, well, he’ll fuck me up, to put it mildly.
I must not have gone very far because I appear at the edge of our compound and throw my duffel bag into the woods. Worst case scenario, I can go back for it. The sky is still dark enough that I know I shouldn’t be wandering around alone. I make it to the back door and Tucker opens it before I can. He’s angry — seriously fucking angry.
He grabs my arm and yanks me inside.
“Where the fuck have you been for the past two hours?”
“I went for a walk and I got lost.”
Lying to him is easy. It helps that I know he doesn’t believe me in the first place. He raises a disbelieving brow and shrugs, the anger melting. He has bigger problems than me.
“Lights in the sky, massive bomb, what’s going on and where’s Ingrid?”
“She’s in her room. I have soldiers watching her and two more out searching for my missing wife,” he grumbles.
If I were more naïve, I might think Tucker cares about me. Logic tells me he is only protecting his investment.
“Sorry. I’m back now.”
“I suppose so. This is the shit I was talking about. You mustn’t worry. We have soldiers guarding us.”
Our screens flicker on. All of them. Tucker’s pad, the face of my watch, our flatscreens. A blue-skinned female scantily clad with tattoos all over her chest appears on the screen. Her black bra barely covers her protruding blue breasts and her skirt is black as well with gold trim. She has long, black hair, down to her shoulders and matted. When she speaks, she bares her teeth and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Terran civilians, your planet has been annexed by Clan Lammas of Antarea. My name is Sungifu and my king, Leofric.”
A man appears behind Sungifu on the screen, towering over her by at least eight inches. He is massive, shirtless, wearing a black kilt with gold trim, and he has a massive broadsword strapped to his large, blue-skinned and tattooed chest. He grunts in approval. They look vicious and terrifying. Long brown horns sprout from his head and curve backward like a ram’s.
“Any further claims to this planet will be disputed with the full force of Clan Lammas. We will enter your homes and take the able-bodied into our service. Any protest is considered illegal and will be met with swift corporal punishment or the death penalty at the discretion of our clan members. Remain in your homes until your assigned district leader has come for analysis.”
The screens flicker off and I feel sick to my stomach. Tucker reaches for my hand and squeezes it. This is bad, very bad.
“Get Ingrid,” he whispers, “We will fight them. We will not submit.”
“Tucker, they have the planet under their control.”
“I said to get Ingrid,” he hisses.
I rush off to fetch his mother. The screens in the house flicker on again. I expect to see Sungifu again and her savage king, but instead, another alien female appears. She too is scantily clad, but she doesn’t wear the same colors as Sungifu and her king. I pause to watch, even with Tucker’s specific instructions.
“Terran civilians,” she starts, her voice lilting and melodic, “Your planet has been annexed by Clan Imbolg of Antarea. I am your Queen Elfrieda and my king is Godwine the magnificent. You will not submit to the orders of Clan Lammas. You will submit to ours. We will send another message to your slave population shortly.”
Fucking hell. They must be the same species because they look identical — blue-skinned, queens, clans and shaggy black hair. I get the idea that the clans are very different and they don’t agree on much. We have one of two queens, Elfrieda, or Sengifu. I am not sure which I prefer, or which ones will get to us first. I pound on Ingrid’s door. The screaming begins in the front of the house along with weapon fire. One of the clans is massacring the soldiers. Ingrid opens the door, wide-eyed and confused.
“Where’s Tucker.”
‘“We have to hurry,” I tell her without explaining, “Tucker’s in the front of the house and I think he’s going to get us out of here.”
She wants to argue, but I don’t have any more time to play nice. I grab her and drag her along the hallways. I smell blood and hear screams before I reach the foyer where Tucker should be waiting. He’s hiding behind a pillar and three Clan Lammas soldiers are in our house. I recognize
them from their distinct black and gold clothing.
I yank Ingrid back behind the wall and press my finger to her lips. She nods, but her legs tremble and I fear she’s going to wet herself. I squeeze her hand and mouth, “Everything will be fine. Tucker’s men will save us.”
I know it isn’t true as I say it. I hear Tucker say, “Put your weapons down, I’m the Head of this Department and Earth will retaliate violently to any —
I hear a weapon and Tucker stops talking. Fuck. I know what this means. They have killed Tucker, which means it’s only a matter of time before they find us and everything is most certainly not going to be fine.
I shudder and try to come up with a plan at the last minute. It is far too late. The three soldiers turn the corner. Ingrid shrieks and for once in my life, I surrender.
Chapter 10
I Am Chosen
I am lined up with the other women on the settlement, including Ingrid. They appear to be sorting us by age. The girls and teenagers are rounded up by a group of silent savages and I wonder if the clansmen are telepathic like the Devorans. I have heard of telepathic aliens, but I don’t think the Antareans belong to such a sect.
The king and queen of the clan pace the middle of our town’s small park and the queen occasionally barks orders to the men. They understand her, but only the women respond. Not telepathic then, something else. Not like it matters. I can tell they’re going to kill us all. Once they’ve separated the girls, they remove the old women from our group. Some of them cry but Ingrid doesn’t. She’s in shock. Her son has just been killed right before her eyes and she hasn’t processed it. Tucker is dead. Tucker is dead. Holy fuck.
I’m not sure if I believe it either. I thought Tucker would be around a lot longer and I didn’t think he had to die for me to be free. What is happening doesn’t count as freedom. A Lammas clan woman they call Dreda leads the old women off and I hope they aren’t going to be killed. I don’t think the Antareans care much for hiding their butchery. They kill the sick and then sort the women. A lanky, cerulean-skinned male with longer horns than the rest and scars running up the side of his torso approaches us.
“Wulfric, our second,” Sungifu commanded, “Take the bigger ones for breeders. Leofric has granted you permission to take three concubines and for Coelmund to have one and Kalfr has requested six for his insatiable appetite.”
Wulfric grunted and motioned toward us, his finger drawing an inquisitive circle through the air. Sungifu appeared to understand his sign language.
“Leofric has already selected his slave. Coelmund will give take her along with his concubines and give her medical approval. Now hurry, we need to guard the borders before Clan Imbolg invades to snatch our prize.”
I hang my head with false humility in hopes that Wulfric will pass me over. He does and I exhale a sigh of relief, as short-lived as I know it will be. I have to guess who Coelmund is. I believe he’s a doctor based on Sungifu’s words. The men don’t speak. How strange, I think, but perhaps a blessing for the clan women.
Coelmund approaches and I memorize what makes him stand out. I think I am to become his slave and that troubles me less than the idea of becoming Wulfric’s. He has white eyes, like the rest of them, a terrifying void that I can hardly believe enables the Antareans to see. Coelmund smells like latex and he wears a gold pin on a black sash that hangs over his shoulders that I assume differentiates him as a doctor. His hair has a thick shock of white running through it.
Coelmund touches each of our shoulders — there are eight of us left — and tilts his chin so we know to follow him. I feel sorry for the poor sucker among us who will become Leofric’s slave. I hate to think about what the king of those savages might want and what depraved desires he must have acquired. I observe them carefully, searching for chinks in their armor, for methods of escape. If I can escape the Corporation, escaping these savages may not prove too difficult. They expect us to be too terrified to attempt to escape.
Coelmund is easily seven feet tall and he walks us to a white tent that looks unimpressive from the outside but contains a fully functional field hospital within. He has an assistant with him, a wispy girl with short horns and dyed hair. I guess even conquering clans care for aesthetics. Her bosom spills out of her cage-bra and the assistant’s loincloth barely covers her wide hips. She’s surprisingly buxom for an alien.
“Medic Coelmund requires your clothing removed,” the assistant says calmly, uninspired by our terrified expressions.
“That’s ridiculous!” One woman shrills, “I’m an American you know and when the Corporation finds out about this, you people will regret what you’ve done!”
Another foolish woman chimes in, “I agree, Cindy! We need to speak to your manager because this is completely inappropriate!”
I begin to strip. I see what these aliens are capable of and survival sometimes requires compromise.
“Put your clothes back on!” Cindy hisses at me.
“I’m doing what they say,” I hiss back, and I remove every article of my clothing.
The other women do the same, except Cindy, who stands clothed with her arms folded. The assistant taps a large gold earring that appears to be some kind of communication or recording device and she speaks.
“Subject identified as Cindy refuses to comply with Medic commands. Punishment has been doled out.”
Coelmund nods.
The assistant picks up a long metal rod that looks suspiciously like a cattle prod. Cindy screams as she sticks it into her side. It acts as a cattle prod too. Cindy drops to her knees and the girl touches the hot rod to Cindy’s face, branding her. She wails and the assistant commands her friend, “Undress her. Now. Or face the same fate.”
She gives her commands so dispassionately, as if she truly views us as animals, and certainly views us as beneath her.
Their king enters with Sungifu beside him. Coelmund and his assistant drop to their knees and lower their head.
“King Leofric, cousin of mine requests his slave,” Sungifu says to the assistant.
“My apologies,” the girl mutters, keeping her head bowed, “The slave has been sullied.”
“What happened?” Sungifu grumbles.
“She was disobedient, my Cwen.”
“King Leofric will select another.”
Leofric scowls. I try not to look at him. He’s horrifying to look at — larger than the rest and brawnier. I’ve never seen a man who wields such cold authority. Tucker would have envied his raw power.
Leofric signs something and Sungifu nods.
“Leofric, very well.”
“He wants that one,” Sungifu announces and then she points at me.
Coelmund nods and signs back. The assistant speaks on his behalf.
“Medic Coelmund is happy to sacrifice his slave to our dear King.”
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